“Take the understanding of the East and the knowledge of the West – and then seek.” -G.I. Gurdjieff [1]

East meets West has become a catch phrase for the merging of eastern psychology and/or spirituality and western psychology. John Welwood in his classic book, Toward a Psychology of Awakening sums it up this way in his introduction:

“Eastern contemplative psychology, based on meditative practice, presents teachings about how to achieve direct knowledge of the essential nature of reality, which lies beyond the scope of the conventional conceptual mind. Western therapeutic psychology, based on clinical practice and conceptual analysis, allows us to trace specific causes and conditions influencing our behavior, mind-states, and self-structure as a whole. Yet though the Eastern emphasis-on nonpersonal awareness and direct realization of truth-and the Western emphasis-on individual psychology and conceptual understanding-may seem contradictory, we can also appreciate them as complementary. Both are essential for a full realization of the potentials inherent in human existence.” pg. 4.

Welwood wrote these words in 2000. Gurdjieff wrote the above quote in the 1920s. Two points that interest me are: 1) His choice of descriptive adjectives, specifically, understanding for East and knowledge for West. 2) He is telling us to seek.  What do you think he meant by that?